Virginia State Sen. Robert G. Marshall Wants Teachers to be Armed with Guns

Virginia State Sen. Robert G. Marshall is drafting a bill that would require some teachers in the state to carry guns in response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday.

Marshall’s proposed bill would force school districts to arm certain staff members after they passed a course on gun safety, reports the Washington Post.

Virginia Division of Legislative Services staff attorney Wenzel J. Cummings wrote a letter Marshall to confirm the bill's legality: “Given that this is a mandate placed on the school board with regard to the training of its personnel, it seems to be within the realm of what your bill request would seek to accomplish requiring the training of personnel who would carry a firearm. In that vein, if you would prefer a ‘shall’ versus a ‘may,’ we think you could probably go forward with a ‘shall’ bill.”

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) echoed Marshall's logic on Tuesday when speaking to WTOP radio: “If people were armed, not just a police officer, but other school officials that were trained and chose to have a weapon, certainly there would be an opportunity to stop an individual trying to get into the school. If a person [like Sandy Hook's principal] was armed and trained, could they have stopped the carnage? Perhaps.”